Apparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked member

ABSTRACT

Provided is an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked member capable of improving the quality of the thin film stacked member by decreasing creases, heat wrinkles, and tension wrinkles in the film through wrinkle smoothing-out. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked member transports a strip-shape flexible substrate in a horizontal direction with a width direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate as the vertical direction. The strip-shape flexible substrate is transported to a film deposition portion provided in a transport path of the strip-shape flexible substrate. A thin film is stacked on a surface of the strip-shape flexible substrate by means of a film deposition apparatus provided in the film deposition portion. A temperature-raising portion  20  having a roller heater  21  is provided at least before the first of the film deposition portion  30 , and the roller heater  21  is set to increase a temperature of the strip-shape flexible substrate  1  to approximately a temperature of the film deposition portion  30.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a thin filmstacked member in which a film-shape flexible substrate is transportedin a horizontal direction with its width direction as the verticaldirection, that is in an upright state, and plasma discharge isgenerated by a high-frequency power supply in a gas atmosphere within avacuum chamber to form a thin film, and relates to an apparatus formanufacturing a thin film stacked member having a mechanism of smoothingout, while transporting a thin film stacked member, heat wrinkles andtension wrinkles that occur during transporting the thin film stackedmember while heating, and a wrinkle-smoothing mechanism which functionsreliably even when the transport direction is reversed.

BACKGROUND ART

A rigid substrate is normally used as the substrate of a semiconductorthin film or other thin film stacked member. However, for example, thesubstrate of a photoelectric conversion element used in solar cells andsimilar, a resin or other flexible substrate is used due to its lightweight, ease of handling and other convenience, or in order to reducecosts through mass production.

As an apparatus to manufacture a thin film stacked member using such aflexible substrate, a film deposition apparatus has been developed,which repeats an operation of passing a strip-shape flexible substratethrough a plurality of film deposition chambers connected and arrangedin a row and depositing film onto the surface of the flexible substratein a halted state in each film deposition chamber, and an operation oftransporting the flexible substrate to the position of the next filmdeposition chamber, to stack a plurality of thin films with differentproperties on the flexible substrate (see for example Patent Reference1).

Among such film deposition apparatuses, there are an apparatus typewhich holds width direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate in ahorizontal direction and transports the flexible substrate in ahorizontal direction to perform film deposition, and an apparatus typewhich holds the width direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate ina vertical direction, and transports the flexible substrate in ahorizontal direction to perform film deposition. The latter type hassuch advantages over the former type as a decreased tendency for theflexible substrate surface to be contaminated; but as the number of filmdeposition chambers increases, there are the problems that wrinklesoccur on the surface of the flexible substrate due to gravity andstretching of the flexible substrate, and that the flexible substratetends to meander or droop downwards in the width direction.

In order to solve such problems, it has been proposed that anintermediate chamber be arranged between two film deposition chamberspositioned in the center of numerous film deposition chambers arrangedin a row, and that an edge position control (EPC) roller, which contactsthe flexible substrate surface along the entire width-direction faces ofthe flexible substrate, be here provided. However, normally filmdeposition is performed at comparatively high temperatures, and so ifsuch a stainless steel EPC roller was arranged between film depositionchambers, the flexible substrate would be rapidly cooled, and problemssuch as the occurrence of wrinkles would occur.

Hence a film deposition apparatus has been proposed in which a pluralityof pairs of gripping rollers sandwiching the upper edge in the verticaldirection of a strip-shape flexible substrate is provided in eachinterval between a plurality of film deposition chambers, and that theplurality of pairs of gripping rollers is installed with the rotationdirection of each of the rollers inclined upward with respect to thedirection of transport of the strip-shape flexible substrate (see PatentReference 2 and Patent Reference 3).

By arranging at least one pair of gripping rollers sandwiching the upperedge in the vertical direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate ineach interval between the plurality of film deposition chambers, andinstalling the plurality of pairs of gripping rollers such that therotation direction of each of the rollers is inclined upward withrespect to the direction of transport of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate, when the strip-shape flexible substrate is transported in thehorizontal direction, a force raising the flexible substrate upwardoccurs. Hence even when the strip-shape flexible substrate istransported over a long distance between a plurality of film depositionchambers, the occurrence of wrinkles in the flexible substrate,meandering of the flexible substrate in the width direction, anddrooping downward of the flexible substrate can be prevented, and thevertical-direction position of the strip-shape flexible substrate can bemaintained with high precision.

Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-72408

-   Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.    2009-38276-   Patent Reference 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.    2009-57632

However, in this technique of the prior art, the apparatus having anobject of stretching-out during heating, grasps the edge of thestrip-shape flexible substrate using pairs of gripping rollers beforeand after film deposition chambers, and smoothes out wrinkles.Consequently, when the temperature of the strip-shape flexible substratefalls, there is the problem that adequate smoothing-out of wrinkles isnot performed.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus formanufacturing a thin film stacked member which resolves theabove-described problems, and can improve the quality of the thin filmstacked member by decreasing creases, heat wrinkles and tension wrinklesin a film through wrinkle smoothing-out.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to resolve the above-described problems, the present inventionprovides an apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked member bytransporting a strip-shape flexible substrate in a horizontal directionwith a width direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate as thevertical direction, transporting the strip-shape flexible substrate to afilm deposition portion provided in a transport path of the strip-shapeflexible substrate, and stacking a thin film on a surface of thestrip-shape flexible substrate by means of a film deposition apparatusprovided in the film deposition portion, wherein a temperature-raisingportion having a roller heater is provided at least before the first ofthe film deposition portion, and the roller heater is set to raise atemperature of the strip-shape flexible substrate to approximately atemperature of the film deposition portion.

Further, in the present invention, a temperature-lowering portion havinga roller heater is provided after the end of the film depositionportion, and the roller heater is set to heat the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate at a temperature between the temperature within the filmdeposition portion and normal temperature.

Further, in the present invention, heating temperatures are set by theroller heater provided in the temperature-raising portion and the rollerheater provided in the temperature-lowering portion, and the rollerheaters are set to switch functions of the roller heaters between theroller heater for the temperature-raising portion and the roller heaterfor the temperature-lowering portion, depending on a direction oftransport of the strip-shape flexible substrate.

Further, in this invention, pairs of gripping rollers respectivelysandwiching upper and lower edges in the vertical direction of thestrip-shape flexible substrate are provided in a previous stage of eachof the roller heaters, and the gripping rollers are set to stretch outthe strip-shape flexible substrate in the width direction and transportthereof, and the roller heaters are provided to smooth out wrinkles inthe strip-shape flexible substrate.

Further, pairs of gripping rollers respectively sandwiching upper andlower edges in the vertical direction of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate are provided before and after the film deposition portion, andthe gripping rollers are set to smooth out wrinkles in the strip-shapeflexible substrate that occur at the time of film deposition.

According to the first aspect, the roller heater in atemperature-raising portion heats a strip-shape flexible substrate priorto entry into a film deposition portion so that the temperature of thestrip-shape flexible substrate is approximately the temperature of thefilm deposition portion, and wrinkles can easily be smoothed out.

According to the second aspect, the strip-shape flexible substrate onwhich film deposition has been performed by the film deposition portioncan be gradually cooled, so that the occurrence of wrinkles due to rapidcooling can be prevented.

According to the third aspect, the roller heater of thetemperature-raising portion and the roller heater of thetemperature-lowering portion can be set for heating temperatures, sothat at the time of supply to a film deposition portion, the substratecan be supplied while heating the strip-shape flexible substrate to atemperature near that of the film deposition portion, and rapid coolingafter exiting from the film deposition portion can be prevented.Further, when transporting the strip-shape flexible substrate in bothdirections, by interchanging the roles of the temperature-raisingportion and the temperature-lowering portion, transporting in bothdirections becomes possible.

According to the fourth aspect, the gripping rollers stretches out thestrip-shape flexible substrate in the width direction and transported,so that there is no concern that wrinkles may be created in thestrip-shape flexible substrate by roller heaters.

According to the fifth aspect, the gripping rollers smooth out wrinklesduring film deposition on the strip-shape flexible substrate, so thatthe occurrence of wrinkles during film deposition can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of anapparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked members of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the film depositionportions in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper and lower grippingrollers in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a gripping rollerangle adjustment mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the gripping roller angle adjustmentmechanism in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing another embodiment of anapparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked members of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing still another embodiment ofan apparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked members of thisinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing upper and lower gripping rollerswhen the transport direction is reversed.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Below, a detailed explanation of embodiments is given, referring to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show one embodiment of an apparatus for manufacturingthin film stacked members, which is a roll-to-roll type plasma CVDapparatus continuously depositing thin film layers of an amorphous solarcell.

The apparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked members of FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 employs a single-direction transport method, and comprises anunwinding portion 10 incorporating a strip-shape flexible substrate 1wound in roll form; a temperature-raising portion 20 heating thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1 to approximately the temperature of thefilm deposition portion 30; a film deposition portion 30 comprising aplurality of film deposition chambers 31 forming thin film layers on thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1; a temperature-lowering portion 40heating the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 on which solar cell thinfilm layers have been deposited so that the temperature of the thin filmstacked member does not fall rapidly; and a winding portion 50 taking upthe deposited thin film stacked member 1A.

The unwinding portion 10 houses in a housing chamber 12 avertical-direction roller 11 on which is wound, in roll form, astrip-shape flexible substrate 1 with its width direction as thevertical direction; in the housing chamber 12 is provided a pair ofauxiliary rollers 13 which pull out the strip-shape flexible substrate 1and feed the vertically oriented strip-shape flexible substrate 1 in ahorizontal direction. Although not shown in the figures, normally aplurality of guide rollers is provided together with the auxiliaryrollers 13 in the housing chamber 12.

The temperature-raising portion 20 comprises a temperature-raisingchamber 22 in which a roller heater 21 is arranged a vertical-directionas a heating apparatus; this temperature-raising chamber 22 is providedbetween the housing chamber 12 and the film deposition portion 30, andheats and transports the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 pulled outfrom the unwinding portion 10 while changing the direction insubstantially a right-angle direction as seen in plan view. In thetemperature-raising chamber 22, before the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 enters the film deposition portion 30, heating is performedby the roller heater 21 until the temperature of the strip-shapeflexible substrate 1 is substantially at the temperature of the filmdeposition portion 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, pairs of gripping rollers 23 (23 a, 23 b and 23 c,23 d) are provided both before and after the roller heater 21 in thetemperature-raising chamber 22 to sandwich the upper end and lower endof the strip-shape flexible substrate 1. The upper gripping rollers 23a, 23 c are installed with the roller rotation direction inclined upwardwith respect to the direction of transport of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 (that is, the horizontal direction). In this way, by settingan angle θ between the rotation direction of the upper gripping rollers23 a, 23 c and the direction of transport of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1, when the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 is transported inthe horizontal direction, a force raising the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 upward occurs. The lower gripping rollers 23 b, 23 d areinstalled with the roller rotation direction inclined downward withrespect to the direction of transport of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 (that is, the horizontal direction).

In the film deposition portion, a plurality of film deposition chambers31A to 31D (four chambers in the example shown) is arranged in a rowalong the transport direction, and the interiors of the chambers, in avacuum, are filled with reactive gas. Within the plurality of filmdeposition chambers 31A to 31D, there are provided, as film depositionapparatuses, mutually opposed high-frequency electrodes 32A and groundedelectrodes 32B with internal plate heaters. A high-frequency powersupply, not shown, is connected to the high-frequency electrodes 32A,and by applying a high-frequency power supply, a plasma discharge iscaused in the space formed between the high-frequency electrodes 32A andthe grounded electrodes 32B. By means of the plasma occurring betweenthe high-frequency electrodes 32A and the grounded electrodes 32B, thereactive gas in the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D is decomposed,and a thin film is formed on the surface of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 positioned between the high-frequency electrodes 32A and thegrounded electrodes 32B. In this case, thin films with differentproperties can also be formed in each of the film deposition chambers31A to 31D. For example, in three film deposition chambers 31, N-typelayer, I-type layer, and P-type layer thin films can be formed insuccession. In each of the intervals between the plurality of filmdeposition chambers 31A to 31D are arranged a pair of gripping rollers33 (33 a, 33 b) sandwiching and transporting the upper edge and loweredge respectively of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1. The uppergrip rollers 33 a, which is similar to the upper gripping rollers 23 ain the temperature-raising chamber 22, are installed with the rollerrotation direction inclined upward with respect to the transportdirection of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 (that is, thehorizontal direction). And the lower gripping rollers 33 b are alsoinstalled inclined downward, which is similar to the lower grippingrollers 23 b in the temperature-raising chamber 22.

The temperature-lowering portion 40 comprises a temperature-loweringchamber 42 in which a vertical-direction roller heater 41 is arranged asa heating apparatus; this temperature-lowering chamber 42 is providedbetween the film deposition portion 30 and the winding portion 50, andheats and transports the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 while changingthe direction in substantially a right-angle direction as seen in planview.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this temperature-lowering chamber 42, pairs ofgripping rollers 43 (43 a, 43 b and 43 c, 43 d) are provided both beforeand after the roller heater 41 to sandwich and transport the upper edgeand lower edge of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1. The uppergripping rollers 43 a, 43 c are installed with the roller rotationdirection inclined upward with respect to the direction of transport ofthe strip-shape flexible substrate 1 (that is, the horizontaldirection). In this way, by setting an angle θ between the rotationdirection of the upper gripping rollers 43 a, 43 c and the direction oftransport of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1, when the strip-shapeflexible substrate 1 is transported in the horizontal direction, a forceraising the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 upward occurs. The lowergripping rollers 43 b, 43 d are installed with the roller rotationdirection inclined downward with respect to the direction of transportof the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 (that is, the horizontaldirection).

An example of a mechanism to incline the gripping rollers (43) isexplained by applying the upper gripping rollers 23 (43) in FIG. 4 andFIG. 5. Gripping rollers 23 are rotatably supported by the lower ends ofroller fixing shafts 91. The upper end of a roller fixing shaft 91 isfixed to the lower face of a roller fixing portion 92, and the upper endof the other roller fixing shaft 91 is fixed to the lower face of aroller moving portion 93. A rotation support portion 94 is provided onthe upper face of the roller fixing portion 92, and one end of a U-shapehandle portion 95 is provided on the upper face of the roller movingportion 93. The other end of the handle portion 95 is rotatably fixed tothe rotation support portion 94 with a hinge 96 as a fulcrum. And, bycausing rotation of the roller moving portion 93 with the hinge 96 asfulcrum, the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 can be sandwiched betweenthe gripping rollers 23, and the distance between the gripping rollers23 can be increased. The rotation support portion 94 and the other-endside of the handle portion 95 are connected by a tension spring S, andwhen in a state in which the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 issandwiched between the gripping rollers 23, the length of the tensionspring S is shortest. The pressure applied by the gripping rollers 23 tothe strip-shape flexible substrate 1 can be adjusted through thestrength of the tension spring S.

One end of a lever 98 is rotatably mounted on the other-end side of thehandle portion 95, with a hinge 97 as a fulcrum. The rotation shaft ofthe hinge 97 is perpendicular to the rotation shaft of the hinge 96. Theroller fixing portion 92 is fixed to the surface of a fixing plate 90,and a protruding bar 99 is provided on the surface of this fixing plate90. This bar 99 is positioned in the path of the other end of the lever98 when the handle 95 is caused to rotate with the hinge 96 as afulcrum. That is, the bar 99 is in a position to contact the other endof the lever 98 and impede rotation of the handle 95. Further, when thelever 98 is rotated with the hinge 97 as a fulcrum and the other end ofthe lever 98 moves past the bar 99, the handle 95 can rotate freely.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gripping rollers 23, 43 are installed with theroller rotation direction inclined upward with respect to the transportdirection of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1. The angle θ betweenthe roller rotation direction and the substrate transport direction maybe fixed at a predetermined angle, or it may be possible to change theangle even during film deposition. When changing the angle θ, it ispreferable that a configuration be employed such that angle adjustmentis performed with the center points 88 of the rotation shafts of thegripping rollers 23, 43 as fulcrums. By making the center points 88 thefulcrums, the occurrence of wrinkles in the substrate 1, and meanderingof the substrate 1, can be prevented. In particular, it is preferablethat angle adjustment be made possible for gripping rollers 43positioned consecutively on the upper sides of the plurality of pairs.In this way, the transport height of the substrate 1 can be preciselyadjusted to the initial height serving as reference.

The configuration of the upper gripping rollers 23 a and auxiliaryapparatus thereof have been explained; the lower gripping rollers 23 band auxiliary apparatus thereof are vertically inverted, but can have asimilar configuration. Further, a plurality of pairs of the grippingrollers 43 is provided consecutively, which can also have a similarconfiguration. It is preferable that gripping rollers be fabricated fromsilicone rubber, fluoride rubber, or another heat-resistant rubber,PTFE, a polyimide or another synthetic resin. Prescribed performance canbe obtained even when the material is stainless steel or iron with achromium plating.

In the winding portion 50, a vertical-direction winding roller 51, whichwinds up the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 in roll form with itswidth direction as the vertical direction, is housed in a housingchamber 52; in the housing chamber 52 is provided a pair of auxiliaryrollers 53 which send the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 to thewinding roller 51. Although not shown in the figures, normally aplurality of guide rollers is provided together with the auxiliaryrollers 53 in the housing chamber 52.

To explain the action in the above-described embodiment, the strip-shapeflexible substrate 1 is pulled out from the roller 11 and transported inthe horizontal direction with its width direction as the verticaldirection. The strip-shape flexible substrate 1 is sent to thetemperature-raising chamber 22, and is heated by the roller heater 21 toapproximately the temperature of the film deposition portion 30. Whenraising the temperature using the roller heater 21, heat wrinkles occurdue to an uneven temperature distribution. These heat wrinkles occur dueto differences in the linear expansion coefficient caused bytemperature. The strip-shape flexible substrate 1 sent to thetemperature-raising chamber 22 is stretched by the pairs of grippingrollers 43 a, 43 b before directly raising the temperature by the rollerheater 21, and in this stretched state is heated by the roller heater21. Through heating, tension wrinkles occur in the stretched strip-shapeflexible substrate 1. These tension wrinkles are smoothed out by thenext pairs of gripping rollers 23 c, 23 d, before sending to the filmdeposition portion 30.

The strip-shape flexible substrate 1 sent to the film deposition portion30 is held at predetermined distance from the high-frequency electrodes32A and grounded electrodes 32B within the film deposition chambers 31Ato 31D. The grounded electrodes 32B are heated to a predeterminedtemperature by internal heaters. And by means of the high-frequencypower applied to the high-frequency electrodes 32A, plasma dischargewith the grounded electrodes 32B occurs, and by means of this plasma thereactive gas within the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D isdecomposed, and stable thin films are formed on the surface of thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1 positioned between the high-frequencyelectrodes 32A and the grounded electrodes 32B.

And, the thin film stacked member 1A, in which thin films formed on thesurface of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1, is sent to thetemperature-lowering portion 40, where tension wrinkles which hadoccurred in the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D of the filmdeposition portion 30 are smoothed out by the pairs of gripping rollers43 a, 43 b, after which heating is again performed by the roller heater41 to a temperature lower than that of the roller heater 21. In thisway, wrinkles which would occur upon rapid cooling after exit from thefilm deposition portion 30 are prevented. Then, after passing the rollerheater 41, wrinkles occurring due to cooling are smoothed out by thepairs of gripping rollers 43 c, 43 d, and the thin film stacked member1A is sent to the winding portion 50. At this time, wrinkles may alsooccur due to an uneven temperature distribution; these wrinkles alsooccur due to differences in linear expansion coefficient caused bytemperature.

The thin film stacked member 1A sent to the winding portion 50 is brakedby the auxiliary roller 53 and wound up by the roller 51 within thehousing chamber 52 while being pulled.

As explained above, the temperature of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 sent to the film deposition portion 30 is raised by theroller heater 21 to approximately the same temperature as the filmdeposition portion 30, and heat wrinkles occurring due to an uneventemperature distribution are smoothed out by the pairs of grippingrollers 23 c, 23 d disposed in the previous stage of the film depositionportion 30. And, after the film deposition portion 30, the strip-shapeflexible substrate 1 is heated by the roller heater 41 to a temperaturelower than that of the roller heater 21, and the heat wrinkles occurringat this time are smoothed out by the pairs of gripping rollers 43 a, 43b, so that heat wrinkles occurring in the strip-shape flexible substrate1 can be decreased.

Next, FIG. 6 explains another embodiment of the invention, and portionswhich are the same as in FIG. 1 are assigned the same symbols andexplanations are omitted.

Within the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D of the film depositionportion 30 shown in FIG. 1, the roller heaters 21A to 21C, 21D to 21F,and 21G to 21I are arranged between film deposition chamber 31A and filmdeposition chamber 31B, between film deposition chamber 31B and filmdeposition chamber 31C, and between film deposition chamber 31C and filmdeposition chamber 31D. The roller heaters 21A to 21C, 21D to 21F, and21G to 21I are arranged such that the positions of the roller heaters21B, 21E and 21H arranged in respective intermediate positions areshifted in a direction perpendicular to the lines connecting the rollerheaters 21A and 21C, 21D and 21F, and 21G and 21I, so as to smooth outheat wrinkles in the strip-shape flexible substrate 1. And, pairs ofgripping rollers 33 a, 33 b which sandwich and transport the upper edgeand lower edge of the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 are arrangedbefore and after the roller heaters 21A to 21C, 21D to 21F, and 21G to21I.

In this way, after leaving each of the film deposition chambers 31A to31C, the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 is again heated by the rollerheaters 21A to 21C, so that the occurrence of wrinkles due to coolingafter leaving the film deposition chambers 31A to 31C can be prevented.

The apparatus for manufacturing thin film stacked members of FIG. 7 is abi-directional transport apparatus, and the same portions as in FIG. 1are assigned the same symbols in explanations.

In this case, unwinding/winding portions 60A, 60B, which can both unwindand wind the strip-shape flexible substrate 1, are arranged on bothsides of the film deposition portion 30 of FIG. 1.

That is, unwinding/winding portions 60A, 60B in which vertical-directionrollers 61 are housed in housing chambers 62, a film deposition portion30 provided between the unwinding/winding portions 60A, 60B andcomprising film deposition chambers 31A to 31D which form thin filmlayers on a strip-shape flexible substrate 1, andtemperature-raising/lowering portions 70A, 70B arranged between theunwinding/winding portions 60A, 60B and the film deposition portion 30,are comprised.

Within the unwinding/winding portions 60A, 60B, the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 wound in roll form is included within the housing chamber 62on the unwinding side, and the strip-shape flexible substrate 1 is fedout, or is wound up, by auxiliary rollers 63 provided at the housingchamber 62.

The temperature-raising/lowering portions 70A, 70B comprise temperatureraising/lowering chambers 72 in which vertical-direction roller heaters71 are arranged as heating apparatuses. The temperature raising/loweringchambers 72 are provided between the housing chambers 62 and the filmdeposition chambers 31A to 31D, and heat and transport the strip-shapeflexible substrate 1 drawn out from the unwinding/winding portions 60A,60B, while changing the direction in substantially a right-angledirection as seen in plan view.

Further, the temperature-raising/lowering chambers 72 are used forheating and transporting, by means of the roller heaters 71, the thinfilm stacked member 1A sent from the film deposition chambers 31A to31D, while changing the direction in substantially a right-angledirection as seen in plan view.

In the temperature-raising/lowering chambers 72, pairs of grippingrollers 73 are provided before and after the roller heaters 71 whichsandwich and transport both the upper edge and lower edge of thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1.

In this embodiment, for example, when the strip-shape flexible substrate1 is unwound from the unwinding/winding portion 60A, thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70A functions similarly to thetemperature-raising portion 20 of FIG. 1, and thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70B functions similarly to thetemperature-lowering portion 40 of FIG. 1. That is, in thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70A, the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 is heated by the roller heater to a temperature which isapproximately the temperature of the film deposition portion 30.

Before and after the roller heater 71, pairs of gripping rollers 73which sandwich and transport the upper edge and lower edge of thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1 transport the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate 1 to the film deposition portion 30, while smoothing outwrinkles which have occurred in the strip-shape flexible substrate 1.

After being transported to the film deposition portion 30, thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1 is formed with thin films in orderwhile being sent to each of the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D.

Next, the thin film stacked member 1A is transported to thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70B, and while being heated by theroller heater 71 to a temperature lower than that of thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70A, is wound up by the roller 61of the unwinding/winding portion 60B. At this time during transporting,wrinkles which have occurred in the flexible substrate 1 are pulledupward and downward and smoothed out by the upper-side gripping rollers73 and lower-side gripping rollers 73 provided in thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70B.

The thin film stacked member 1A which has been wound up by the roller 61of the unwinding/winding portion 60B is now pulled out in the oppositedirection, entering the film deposition portion 30 from thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70B, and the next thin film isformed on the surface of the thin film stacked member 1A by plasmadischarge between the high-frequency electrodes 32A and the groundedelectrodes 32B in each of the film deposition chambers 31A to 31D. Atthis time, in the temperature-raising/lowering portion 70B, heating isalso performed by the roller heater 71 to approximately the sametemperature as the film deposition portion 30, and wrinkles occurringdue to heating are pulled upward and downward and smoothed out by theupper-side gripping rollers 73 a and lower-side gripping rollers 73 b.At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the directions of the upper-sidegripping rollers 73 a and lower-side gripping rollers 73 b are inclinedopposite the directions shown in FIG. 3. In this way, the thin filmstacked member 1A, on which thin films are formed in succession in thefilm deposition chambers 31A to 31D of the film deposition portion 30,is transported to the temperature-raising/lowering portion 70A. In thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70A, heating is performed by theroller heater 71 to a temperature lower than that of thetemperature-raising/lowering portion 70B, and wrinkles occurring due toheating are pulled upward and downward and smoothed out by theupper-side gripping rollers 73 a and lower-side gripping rollers 73 b,before winding by the roller 61 of the unwinding/winding portion 60A. Inthis way, while being transported in both directions, a thin filmstacked member on which prescribed thin films are formed ismanufactured.

As explained above, by means of the above-described embodiment, wrinklessuch as creases, heat wrinkles, and tension wrinkles occurring in thestrip-shape flexible substrate 1 are decreased by being smoothed out bythe roller heaters 71 and gripping rollers 73 a and 73 b, so that a thinfilm stacked member 1A of good quality can be manufactured.

This invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, andfor example, the temperatures of the roller heaters 21, 41, 71 arrangedin the temperature-raising portion 20, temperature-lowering portion 40,and temperature-raising/lowering portions 70A and 70B can be setappropriately. The gripping rollers 23 a, 23 b, 23 c, 23 d, 43 a, 43 b,43 c, 43 d, 73 a, 73 b arranged before and after the roller heaters 21,41, 71 can be arranged to incline at an appropriate angle suitable forsmoothing wrinkles. In addition, various appropriate modifications andalterations can of course be made without deviating from the gist of theinvention.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 Strip-shape flexible substrate-   10 Unwinding portion-   11, 51 Roller-   12, 52 Housing chamber-   13, 53 Auxiliary roller-   20 Temperature-raising portion-   30 Film deposition portion-   32A High-frequency electrode (film deposition apparatus)-   32B Grounded electrode (film deposition apparatus)-   40 Temperature-lowering portion-   50 Winding portion-   23 a, 23 b, 23 c, 23 d, 43 a, 43 b, 43 c, 43 d, 73 a, 73 b Gripping    roller-   21, 41, 71 Roller heater (heating apparatus)

1. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked member, wherein astrip-shape flexible substrate is transferred in a horizontal directionwith a width direction of the strip-shape flexible substrate as avertical direction, and is transported to film deposition portionsprovided in a transport path of the strip-shape flexible substrate, tothereby form thin films on a surface of the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate by film deposition devices provided in the film depositionportions, the apparatus comprising: a temperature-raising portion havinga roller heater provided at least before a first portion of the filmdeposition portions, for heating a temperature of the strip-shapeflexible substrate to approximately a temperature of the film depositionportions.
 2. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked memberaccording to claim 1, wherein a temperature-lowering portion having aroller heater is provided after a last portion of the film depositionportions, for heating the strip-shape flexible substrate at atemperature between the temperature within the film deposition portionsand an atmospheric temperature.
 3. An apparatus for manufacturing a thinfilm stacked member according to claim 2, wherein heating temperaturesare set by the roller heater provided in the temperature-raising portionand the roller heater provided in the temperature-lowering portion, andthe roller heaters are set to switch functions between the roller heaterof the temperature-raising portion and the roller heater of thetemperature-lowering portion, depending on a direction of transport ofthe strip-shape flexible substrate.
 4. An apparatus for manufacturing athin film stacked member according to claim 1, wherein pairs of grippingrollers for sandwiching upper and lower edges in the vertical directionof the strip-shape flexible substrate are respectively provided in aprevious stage of each of the roller heaters, and the gripping rollersare set for stretching out the strip-shape flexible substrate in thewidth direction and transport direction, and the roller heaters areprovided for smoothing out wrinkles in the strip-shape flexiblesubstrate.
 5. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin film stacked memberaccording to claim 1, wherein pairs of gripping rollers for respectivelysandwiching upper and lower edges in the vertical direction of thestrip-shape flexible substrate are provided before and after the filmdeposition portions, and the gripping rollers are set for smoothing outwrinkles in the strip-shape flexible substrate occurring at the time offilm deposition.